Welcome to The Daily Blade

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Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .

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All right , welcome to another week of the Daily Blade . This week we're gonna spend our entire time talking about this how to be great . I hope you want to be great . You know , greatness is a thing that I believe God put in us , and there's a right way and there's a wrong way to be great . And oftentimes the way we think about it in this world is all wrong because we buy into the systems and the values of this world . But there were some disciples that wanted to be great and we're going to talk about them in Matthew , chapter 20 . And Jesus never scolds them for wanting to be great . He just completely flips it upside down and redefines what greatness is . Matthew , chapter 20 , verse 20 . I'll read through 28 .

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It says this and then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Jesus with her sons and kneeling before him . She asked him for something and he said to her what do you want ? By the way , this is the same thing that he asked the disciples when they first began to kind of trail behind him at the seashore of Galilee . He says what do you want ? And she says to him say that these two sons of mine are to sit , one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom . In other words , what she's asking for is would you please elevate my sons , would you make them great ? Would you make them like ? Senior VP of Jesus Incorporated Verse 22, . And Jesus answered you do not know what you were asking . Now , again , he doesn't scold her for her desire , he's just going to flip it upside down on what it means to be great . And so he says are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink ? And they said to him we are able . And he said to them you will drink my cup , but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant , but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father . And when the ten heard it , they were indignant at the two brothers . But Jesus called them to him and said you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them . It shall not be so among you , but whoever would be great among you must be your servant , and whoever would be first among you must be your slave . The Greek word is doulos . Don't think transatlantic slavery , think a person that is working off a debt , and whoever would be first among you must be your slave , even as the Son of man came not to be served , but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many .

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What we're going to spend our time on this entire week is we are going to talk about the five signs of greatness in the kingdom of God . Now , this is not an exhaustive list . This is just what I see from this text . As you notice , when you listen to me , do the Daily Blade . All I'm going to do is pick a text and unpack it .

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So here are five signs of greatness according to Jesus in Matthew , chapter 20 . Number one , the first sign of greatness in the kingdom of God , is greatness is found in proximity to Jesus and not positional power . Let me say it again it is proximity to Jesus and not positional power that makes you great or makes you successful . And so , even though this mom has some kind of questionable motives or worldly intentions for her boys , here's what she knows . First of all , notice what she does . She bows before Jesus , that's right . She kneels before Jesus , submits and surrenders herself to Jesus , and what she is asking for is that her sons would be the closest to Jesus . You see , a great man in the kingdom of God rests in Jesus . A great man is a man that finds his identity first and foremost in Jesus .

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So let me ask you this question Is Jesus first in your life ? Well , there's a couple of primary ways that you make sure that Jesus is first in your life . One of the things that Jesus says is where your treasury is there , your heart will be also . There's something's got to go first in your life , and if Jesus is not first , I do not care how you order your life , but the entire rest of your life will be out of order . And we find out in the Shema we've talked about this before that God is not just number one on your list , he is like the page on which you would make your list . Now , not only should Jesus be first in your finances , he should be first in everything , including your time .

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Let me tell you a part of the reason the Sabbath is a big deal to God is this Now , hebrews tells us that we ultimately find our Sabbath rest in Christ but a part of the reason it is important for you every single week , on the first day of the week , with the first of your energy to go to church , to gather with the saints , to worship Jesus , is to declare this ain't about me , this is all about you , and you want to orient your life in such a way where you find your purpose , you find your identity , you find your rest in Christ . A great man is not somebody that just simply accomplishes great things or has a great title , but a great man is the person that is kneeled before Jesus , making him , and him alone , number one in their life . Come back tomorrow . We'll talk more about how to be great .

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Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go . If you want to help equip other men for the fight , share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review . Stay sharp .